Weapon questioned

Press, 19 August 1981, Page 8

Weapon questioned

NZPA Washington A former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency says President Reagan made a mistake in authorising production of the neutron weapon, contending that the .armament would cause almost as much damage to the target area as standard nuclear weapons.

Dr Herbert Scoville outlined his views in a report in which he also claimed that use of the neutron weapon would enhance ; the possibility of an all-out war because, he said, the Soviet Union would be less inhibited about using its own nuclear arsenal in response.

Dr Scoville's report was prepared for the Centre for Defence Information, a private research organisation which has opposed many American defence programmes. Dr Scoville noted that the central rationale for con-

struction of the neutron weapon was that it caused less damage to the surrounding . area than standard nuclear weapons, while'delivering lethal doses of radiation to enemy troops.

“However, damage to buildings is reduced by only 10 per. cent over standard nuclear weapons of the same kilotonnage,” he said. “Soviet strategy suggests that tanks would be deployed over a wide area, including populated areas. Such dispersal would demand the use of hundreds of neutron bombs."

An American official, speaking anonymously, said the difference between the two weapons in terms of blast and thermal effects was minimal if they were both detonated at ground level. But. he said, the collateral (corresponding) damage of the neutron weapon was much less if it was

detonated high off the ground.

And, he added, the neutron weapon would not be intended for use if the Soviets attacked with tanks deployed over a wide area. “The weapon is intended primarily to combat a ‘blitzkrieg’ attack in a rural area,” he said, adding . that other weapons would be used for other contingencies.-

Meanwhile, the State Department has elaborated on a recent statement by Mr Reagan that the Soviets spent over $l2O million in their campaign against the neutron bomb over the previous three years. The department said this estimate covered activities such as subsidies to Western European Communist parties and front groups, direct advertisements, and travel of Soviet lobbyists to the West and of Western groups to Moscow.